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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Do you ever wish that your boss understood you better when
you wanted to leave early to attend your daughter’s dance recital? Or wonder
how a horse whisperer tames a horse like it was magic? Or hope that your child
should grow up to be more understanding and emotionally intelligent than many
adults around you? If your answer to any or all of these questions is yes, you
are no different than many other parents like me. We all want our kids to be
caring, and empathetic human beings.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

My son, who is usually very good about trying different
foods, is currently going through a phase that is making him very picky about
what he will eat or if he will even eat for that matter. He went through a
similar phase when he was 16 months or so. His doctor suggested that I keep
some finger food at unexpected places like his book shelf or near his toy box.
If he accidentally discovers it, he will be curious to try it. To my surprise,
the trick worked like a charm. After all, everything new that a 16 month finds
usually goes in his mouth. I was skeptical if this would work with him at this
age.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Dot by Patricia Intriago is a perfect example of how
graphics are much more than mere physical representation of an object. This
book has understated yet spectacular graphics and subtle yet effective and
funny text. It is a great way to show little ones how drawings can express
motions, emotions and much more and can tell a great story when combined with
very few words. Certainly a great lesson in art fundamentals. It will encourage
them to get creative with their own imagination once they discover what can be
done with just a dot. After all, even a 2 year old knows to draw dots.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Recently we just seem to be bumping into books by Keith Baker at our library. ‘Just how long can a long string be?!’ is another little gem that has led to fun activities and many interesting family conversations.

This book illustrates many different uses of strings and how the length of the string varies for each application. My little boy seems to keep an eye out for any use of string he might encounter. He came up with some common ones like shoe laces, puzzles using laces, embroidery. Some more creative uses where he assumed a rope to be essentially a string. Such as the one used to pull a kayak to the shore or to tie the astronauts to the rocket during their spacewalk. This last one actually stumped me!

Emma Garcia’s ‘Tap Tap Bang Bang’ was an instant hit with my
son when we got it from the library. He loves playing with pretend as well as
real tools like many other 3 year olds. This book has introduction to various
building tools and their sounds. It feels like you are in a workshop hearing
all the tools at work when you read it aloud.

I loved it because I always am looking for things to make,
that will develop his hands on skills. What better than activities that lead to
mastering the use of tools that can be used to build lot many more things?

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Little Green
by Keith Baker is a great little book. It is a book about a little boy watching
a hummingbird flying around while he paints the bird’s motion. It is a
spectacular little lesson in Abstracting. This technique is used at Modern Art
classes or Museums to teach adults, the concept of Abstracting.

My 3 year old
was quite fascinated by this book. We have been spotting hummingbirds in our
courtyard for the last few months. His familiarity with hummingbirds surely
added to his excitement. By the time we read the book 4-5 times he was
convinced that he too wants to paint the motions of a hummingbird. Since we
have a very small patio I could not create the painting set up there. A common
courtyard for the condo complex is certainly not a place to do so. And
honestly, I think a hummingbird is too fast for a 3 year old to paint. Even the
kid in the book is not so young. But I did not want to pass up on this exciting
activity either.

About Me

I am a full time employee as a Mom to my 3 year old son and teach hands on engineering and science to kids on weekends and otherwise. I am also required to be a story teller, an arts and craft assistant, cook, event planner, trip advisor, shopping and packing in charge, block builder, problem fixer, and what ever else my 3 year old boss might fancy. This hardly leaves me any time to be an engineer or training & development specialist that I used to be in my past life.